The Fox Goes
by CarnelianKiss
Summary: Naruto wakes up with an extra furry appendage and somehow becomes the youngest Uchiha's pet. "Companion Sakura, he's my companion. I don't have 'pets'." Time Tavel. Slash. Very Eventual SasuNaru.
1. Prologue

**Warnings (first and only): Rated M due to mature language and eventual scenes down the line. Very eventual slash that will not come up until a ways into this fic. Be prepared for longevity. Not going to be a quick fic. **

**Prologue **

Naruto woke slowly, one eye peeked open lazily as he took his sweet time coming back to consciousness.

A faint breeze drifted around him, ruffling the ends of his hair. He sniffed, the air was stale and warm, not cool and earthy, and when he curled further on his side he stiffened as his muscles locked, twinges of sharp pain rocking through his body. Almost as if he'd been laying on stone for hours rather than the soft grass he'd fallen asleep on.

He froze, both eyes now open and wide with confusion.

_Wait a goddamn minute. _

Naruto lurched to his feet, blinking rapidly as all sleepiness left him. He immediately fell to a crouch, biting back a pained moan as he rubbed the top of his head furiously.

_FuckfuckfuckfuckOw!fuckfuckfu—_

Who in the world thought it'd be a good idea to put the ceiling so stupidly low? I mean, heck! Naruto wasn't the tallest shinobi to ever took a breath_—_by a long shot, but that freaking hurt!

He squinted from the lingering aches, one hand still rubbing the growing bump on his head—

Naruto froze.

Dread began to pool in his stomach like bile. He was frozen still, h-hand still s-still…

_"What the fuck?!"_

He lurched at the unfamiliar whine that ripped from his throat and fell back, landing roughly on his backside.

Pain exploded up as tiny bones were pressed against the sharp corner of what seemed to be a square wooden box.

_"Ow!" _Another whine, though this one was more of a high pitched keen escaped his lips.

Furry lips.

Maybe he was finally growing in some facial his mind whimpered uselessly. The extra… _appendage_ that ran just above his butt curled around his smaller body in comfort.

He twitched, seeing stars as he suddenly found it quite difficult to take in oxygen.

Reality was a bit too real to take right now.

"Hey, did you hear that?"

His felt his ears flick up at the unfamiliar male voice that pierced his panicked mind. He body was rocking slightly, he noticed, as if he was on a ship and the waves jerked about his inertia freely. It sounded like the smooth crackle of a dirt and gravel mixed road under the weight of a wheel if he listened carefully. Was he on a carriage? A cart maybe?

"What?" A different man questioned his companion. His voice was an obnoxious, slithery tone that reminded Naruto too much like Orochimaru and he expressed thus through a weird gurgle-hiss that came from the back of his throat.

"Oh." The second man cackled, and Naruto flinched at the too-high pitch. "Ignore it. it's just some entertainment I found in the woods. Must have hit its own head or something, the stupid thing."

"_Another rabbit?" _The first man sounded somewhat appalled. "Come on Katou, leave the poor things alone, what'd they ever do to you?"

"Nope, not a rabbit." He grit his teeth, he could _taste_ the sadism in the man's self-satisfied tone as he corrected him. "A fox." His companion gasped.

"Well that changes things." Naruto's breath caught as he heard a sudden change in the previously reluctant man's voice. The dread was building in his stomach again. "Mind if I join you this time?"

Join him? Join him for what?!

"Hmm, yeah I suppose… hell I guess we should see if the stupid thing is even still alive first. Don't know what made it cry out like that earlier, I haven't even _started_ yet… "

A small hole was carved into the ceiling of the… crate he had been placed in. Daylight poured in, casting a shade of light that created a halo on the bottom-center.

A finger suddenly poked through the hole, wriggling about innocently.

Naruto found himself following the calloused digit in interest. He bared his teeth.

"FUCKING SHIT!"

"Katou!"

"Little fucker bit me," 'Katou' spat.

Suddenly the top of the crate was lifted, breaking apart evenly from the cut-out on the top and Naruto immediately backed into a corner, his eyes squinted in pain at the sudden change in light level. He didn't release the finger he held vindictively between his smaller, but sharper teeth.

Three large dirtied hands descended upon him, two belonging to a different pair than the index finger caught between his teeth.

Naruto growled furiously trying to wriggle away as they grabbed at him roughly, bruising his much softer sides as they all but threw him from the box. "_You're gonna get it you little monster_—_!_"

"… What are you doing Katou-san, Fukoi-san?"

The first man dropped his hands immediately, taking a innocent step back from the obvious wrongness he'd just been a part of.

"Uchiha-sama!" he shouted in surprise.

Naruto blinked, his grip loosening as his jaw went slack. What?

"W-We were just—"

"Well?" The smooth tenor cut through the stuttering man, stripping his would-be excuses to the useless ribbons of lies.

Katou jerked his arm abruptly, forcing the hanging fox to release his grip unless he wanted to loose teeth.

Naruto growled. His throat vibrated at the animalistic sound and he caught himself as he twisted in the air, landing on all fours. _Oh kami-sama_. He bent the upper part of his body instinctively, his chest brushing the ground. His bristled tail high and affronted. He was ready to attack if the idiot tried to touch him again.

He could feel the stare burn into his back as the youngest Uchiha caught sight of his flailing body.

For a second something that felt eerily familiar; a burst of suffocating lust for—for _something_ spread throughout the quiet dirt road like wild fire.

And then it was gone. Pulled in and tied up like a nice combustable package ready to blow.

Naruto swallowed his shock. His smaller body shook at the of sudden onslaught of emotion coming from the twelve year old.

Katou's gulp was audible beside him, and Naruto's nose wrinkled as he caught the stench of urine as well. "Uchiha-sama we were just—" he sputtered stupidly.

"Torturing innocent animals?" Sasuke interrupted, a stiff edge on his normally indifferent tone. Naruto could _feel_ the glare Sasuke was giving the terrified civilian. It was really weird. And uncomfortable. "Tch. Disgusting even for _you,_ Katou-san."

"I-I wasn't." Katou huffed. He looked like he was going to start crying in frustration. Naruto nearly grinned in pleasure, flashing his newly bloodied canines. Shows him right, the cruel bastard.

Sasuke merely raised a dark eyebrow. The companion, Fukoi, flinched sharply and turned back to grab at Katou's shirt sleeve, who'd suddenly gone quite pale. "We'll just be getting back to work now," he shuddered. The two civilians threw the broken crate back onto their cart, packed with other farming and hunting supplies and all but raced away, pulling it behind themselves in anxious, spastic jerks.

Naruto could feel Sasuke Uchiha as he crouched behind him. Twelve years old, and five years worth of killing intent gone from his presence. Well, mostly. Let's just say it wasn't at the level he was used to, ok?

Naruto didn't dare turn around despite the overwhelming curiosity unfurling in his chest, keeping low to the ground. His… 'tail' remained bristled with lingering agitation.

What the heck was going on? Where was he? Was this Konoha? He could see the Hokage Monument from the distance, but he couldn't quite make out Tsunade's profile... and why was Sasuke twelve again? Why was he, Naruto the infamous gusty ninja a… _a bloody fox?!_

"Hey."

His ears fluttered back at the unfamiliarly familiar voice of the youngest Uchiha. He still didn't turn.

"Hey!" He flinched and whirled around as the word was repeated, but much louder. Sasuke watched him blankly, a near perfect mask of indifference. But Naruto knew better.

He saw the anger and barely concealed disgust in the younger's form. Read it plainly in the tightness of his brow, the slight turn of the his head, his gaze focused on him and yet to the distance at the same time, like it was a children's book he'd reread over and over.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Sasuke said, a bit calmer. Softer. He stretched a hand out towards him. Naruto skirted back in shock. The kid sounded uncharacteristically… gentle. Kind-of. It was weird and out of place and wasn't making his churning mind and gut any less sick.

Confused but lured by the familiar chakra that radiated from his former friend—he wasn't a _henge_, he had become quite an expert on noticing the differences between _henges'_ and real people over his years of training with Jiraiya. Naruto took slow, measuring steps towards the Uchiha.

His paws felt too light as they padded on the dirt road and he resolutely avoided looking down as he walked forward, not wanting to see the tiny footprints he knew would be there.

Sasuke stayed still, remaining crouched as he carefully moved closer.

Naruto sniffed at the fingers outstretched towards him, tentatively, and decided not to act on the urge to bite them as he did the villager's. He glanced up at the still boy that loomed above him patiently.

Naruto shook his head internally for what he was about to do. He paused for another nervous second, then brushed his head against the other boy's fingers in thanks.

Sasuke let him do this for a moment before slowly bringing his other hand up to stroke Naruto's… fur. Naruto's eyes shut involuntarily, the smooth strokes oddly comforting. When the raven skimmed his sides to reach the bristled fur of his tail though his eyes widened and he jerked back with a pained hiss.

"They hurt you." Sasuke's expression stiffened further, and for a brief, startling second Naruto thought a flash of red would appear… but the kid's eyes remained dark.

Naruto cocked his head to one side, curious to this new side of the Uchiha. Was that concern he saw? Huh.

"Tch." Sasuke shifted to sit on his heels and turned his head to glare after the long-gone civilians. "They're lucky I've only promised myself to kill one man."

Naruto wanted to cough to break the tense moment but was scared it end up sounding weird coming from his new body.

"Where did they even find you?" Sasuke fixed his attentions back on Naruto, still seeming perturbed. He stared back into the fox's strangely aware eyes for a second then scooped him up, being extra careful with his sides and tail.

Naruto blinked at the sudden altitude he'd gained as the Uchiha stood to his full length. The novelty wore off quickly.

He started to wriggle.

"H-Hey." Sasuke kept his grip firm, withstanding the fierce wiggling valiantly. "You're going to injure yourself further if you keep that up. I'm trying to help you."

Naruto stared at him. _"What the fuck did you just say?"_ he gapped.

All that came out of course was a strange bark that wasn't quite dog-like.

Sasuke smirked. He seemed to take his vocalization as a go-ahead, as he started to walk him further down the road.

_"W-Wait, Sasuke, y-you bastard! Let me go! I'm not going anywhere with you!—"_

The youngest Uchiha didn't so much as blink at the strange yips and other nonsensical sounds coming from the fox in his arms, Naruto's vocabulary becoming increasingly vulgar as he was ignored, and continued on walking. Not even the uneasy looks from passing civilians deterred him as they walked further into the main part of Konoha.

— — —

a/n: hi there. hope that was an ok cut off, it's pretty late and my laptops gonna die from battery dehydration. next chapter should be up by tomorrow. stay tuned folks~ 'hushed whisper: _"reviews are love"_'


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Naruto had calmed somewhat, satisfied that his claws had given the other boy plenty of tiny battle scars.

He still didn't understand why he was a fox or why Sasuke was twelve again but the reality had begun to set in, and he could feel its icy tendrils curling uncomfortably in his stomach, freezing him from the inside out... even then he couldn't quite find the energy to caterwaul in despair.

His whiskered face was peeked with unadulterated happiness as he took in his surroundings with a heavy sense of relief. If he could smile he was sure it would have been the biggest and brightest he'd ever had.

Konoha wasn't broken by war. Destroyed by the Akatsuki and Orochimaru.

Not yet.

As Sasuke carried him further into the city Naruto was forced to recognize shops and people he hadn't seen in _years_ still standing strong and walking about. There was no rubble or crater where Choji's favorite BBQ place once stood. The old man talking with the florist was breathing fine without a hacking, bloodied cough. The little girl clutching his hand blinked innocently at the world around her, her rabbit doll pressed against her pretty yukata protectively, rather then hanging limp from her fingers.

Naruto knew this place—it was Konaha, his village, _his home_—of course he knew it.

But it was different - wasn't his, for that very same reason. It was too much, too confusing yet laid out plainly before his eyes.

If Konoha was mostly whole again, and Sasuke had mysteriously reverted back to his genin years, perhaps it wasn't a question of where, Naruto hesitated, fear, suspicion and disbelief clouded by a blinding _hope_… but when.

He shook his head furiously at the idea, his strangely longer ears flapping against his skull at the movement. Sasuke shifted and ran a soft palm down his spine. Although the small bones were still sensitive he curled tighter in the boy's arms. The warmth from his chest was anchoring in his perplexed state.

The youngest Uchiha had become increasingly quiet as well, unknowingly fitting right in with Naruto's somber mood. At least that was in character for the twelve year old, all the talking he'd been doing was making him start to doubt the _henge_ idea.

He subconsciously shifted closer to the boy as they step through the gates of the Uchiha compound, a little worried about vengeful clan-member ghosts. The fur at his back started to stick up. Naruto had never been invited here before. Only seen the ghost town from the street, half-blocked by large towering fences. Sasuke noticed his growing unease immediately.

"What?" Sasuke asked plainly, ducking his head as they entered one of the medium-sized houses along the compound. The place was untouched and unnaturally clean, but there was a lingering sense of wrongness that was a bitter cut under his tongue. Naruto repressed the embarrassing urge to curl around the younger's neck in the imitation of a fur scarf. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded, prying the sharp claws from his forearms for the third time that day.

_"How can you sleep here after what happened. Aren't you scared of ghosts?!" _Naruto protested loudly, attempting to convey his hesitations through high-pitched yips and loud barks. He started to wriggle again.

"Hush, you'll be fine," Sasuke scoffed and patted his rump. Naruto froze, scandalized. "Stay here. I'm going to buy bandages for your side."

Naruto huffed in victory as he managed to maneuver his way out of the younger boy's grabby hands, ignoring the voice at the back of his hand that rationed the only reason he was free was because the Uchiha had _allowed_ it.

Sasuke stared at his preening form, lips pursed. He crouched down on his heels again and reached out to him. Naruto followed the digit with his eyes carefully.

"… And something for you to eat, you're too thin." He poked his belly, not unkindly, more like he was checking the state of his ribs. Naruto glanced up at him confused, but his nose automatically twitched at the idea of food.

"What does a fox eat anyway?" Sasuke muttered under his breath, obviously talking more to himself than Naruto. He glanced back again at his unnaturally aware form seated on the floor in front of him. "Stay," he ordered, before pushing open the front door and he vanished outside again.

Naruto bristled. He wasn't a fucking _dog_ for kami's sake.

His eyes caught sight of a fan shaped mirror—_really Sasuke, really?_—and he leaped onto of the hall cabinet with ease, twinges of pain arching his back as he landed.

He started to pant as he gazed at the reflective surface, just out of line-of-sight. He felt dizzy. And nauseated. And he could really use an encouraging hug from Sakura right about now.

Or maybe a hard punch to his shoulder to force him forward.

He padded closer, hesitant. A black, whiskered snout came into sight before the rest of his body.

Naruto collapsed onto his hind legs, he had _haunches!_ He stared at the furry red fox kit that blinked back at him slowly, in a daze.

Yep, he was a fox. As he had suspected… and had been pointed out to him numerously that day. There was no fighting that truth. Bright eyed and bushy tailed and everything.

_Oh kami-sama_, _what had happened to him?!_

His inhumanly wide eyes, still blue he noted passively, were glassy with unshed tears as he pressed a tiny-ass paw to the glass in attempt to piece himself together, taking in his new self. A low whine escaped his whiskered lips. How was he supposed to save his precious people and become Hokage as a baby _fox_?

Naruto surveyed the thick, brick-red fur that coated his entire body, left eye twitching. A snow-tipped tail curled around his feet protectively. At least he was cute. Yeah… he was cute.

He shrugged helplessly. As much as a fox could shrug, he narrowed at his reflection warily. It was more of a roll of his spine than anything.

There wasn't anything he could currently think of to help his… predicament. Best to not linger on the currently unavoidable he nodded physically, and tipped his face away from the mirror, aiming his gaze at the dark wooden floors of the Uchiha's main hall.

"Denial~," sing-songed a voice in his head. It sounded suspiciously like a infamous copy-cat nin.

He ignored the voice with a hiss and hopped down gently. He set off to explore while Sasuke was away, pinpricks of jealousy biting at him annoyingly like ticks as he did so.

Sasuke certainly had nothing to be ashamed about, house wise. The place was _nice_.

It was dark, with midnight blue walls and rich, cherrywood floors and crown-moulding… and ridiculously big for a single resident, just as Naruto had expected it to be. There were comfortable ceilings and large decorative fans of the boy's namesake and clan symbol placed strategically on a wall of every room. It was built in traditional style, with sliding paper doors and tatami mats in the living room.

Sasuke reappeared ten or so minutes later, slipping off his shinobi regulated sandals at the door and tucking them into the cabinet that held the mirror Naruto had checked himself out in. He disappeared down a wide hall lined with windows with out so much as a glance to him.

Naruto contemplated following him, curious about the youngest Uchiha's bedroom having not included the room in his explorations in a stange, misplaced guilt at stepping foot in the boy's personal space, but shook the thoughts away, turning his attention to what seemed like the kitchens with interest.

His stomach had been gurgling angrily ever since the other boy had pointed out his… _slightness_. He growled along with the chemicals in his tummy and prowled forward.

Sasuke had been carrying a plastic bag with bulging with packaged cloth he assumed where the badges, and a few large, pint-sized plastic cups Naruto knew could only be one thing…

He plopped his hands to his stomach—well _paws,_ the familiar saltiness lingered in the air around them, the spiciness of the noodle broth enticing his empty belly.

_"Ramen!" _he barked. Fuck yes. He knew baby Sasuke had to be good for something.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the enthusiastic panting as he all but barreled into the kitchen. "You remind me of that Dobe for some reason," he muttered. He continued to stir the pot of noodles absentmindedly.

Naruto's ears perked. He scrunched up his snout in confusion. Huh? Dobe? But wasn't that him?

"No one important, just some idiot that attends the academy," Sasuke almost seemed to grumble, his stirring motions becoming less controlled and Naruto was forced to back away from the boiling liquid that sprung from the pot.

Sasuke blinked at him, and turned off the burner. "You're smarter then he could ever hope to be," he noted, watching his swift movements. A smirk teased at the edge of his lips.

_"Teme!"_

Naruto's ears flattened against his skull. He had no idea if he was supposed to be insulted or not. _He_ obviously was, but he couldn't really speak for younger Naruto. Other Naruto.

Wait—_other Naruto?_!

"Hey! How many times do I have to say it. You're injured, now stay still." The youngest Uchiha complained lowly, not liking the way the small, injured fox careened agitatedly around his kitchen.

Sasuke placed his hands on his hips. "I know you can understand me." He cocked his head, making his too-long bangs hang over narrowed eyes.

Naruto froze.

W-Wha—he thought he wasn't able to speak Japanese in this form!

"At least, as much as a fox can," Sasuke added with his eyes closed, unknowingly halting the oncoming cardiac arrest that left Naruto gasping for air, and tasted the broth from a small cup.

He licked his lips with a nod and placed a plate of boiled pork on the floor in front of Naruto.

"Eat."

Naruto blinked at the lightly steaming meat, confused. Where was his ramen? He leaped onto the kitchen counter with ease, to Sasuke's surprise, and pressed a paw to the boy's own bowl of the soup in demand, leveling him with a pissed glare.

Acknowledging the fox's apparent interest in his food Sasuke spun around abruptly, causing Naruto to splay indelicately as his paw slipped on the ceramic bowl. His mouth snapped shut and he growled through his teeth, snarling from his back at the side-smirk Sasuke gave him as he leaned against the counter. The sadistic boy brought a tangle of noodles from his chopsticks to his open mouth with a long, agonizing slurp.

The.

Bastard.

He let out a war cry that mimicked his roaring tummy and pounced.

"Y-Ya!" Sasuke blinked rapidly in surprise, attempting to get Naruto's sharp teeth to release the delicate skin of his palm. "I'll give you some alright—_now let go!_"

— — —

The sky had become dipped black and blue with evening now, having been not-rescued by the Uchiha around late afternoon if the position of the sun was any reason.

Sasuke was carefully tying off the white bandage he had wrapped around his middle while Naruto stood still on all fours on the Uchiha's black couch. He let his nails did into the supple leather with a vindictive grin. A tongue peeked up to lick the lingering soup from his teeth. He had gotten everything he wanted food wise, and now the youngest Uchiha was tending to his wounds like a good like servant, he congratulated himself, haughtily.

Sasuke seemed to ignore the strange sense of satisfaction coming off the fox in waves. Their eyes met every now and then while the boy worked on his bruised bones.

Naruto's fanged grin snapped closed as he began to study Sasuke with uncharacteristic solemnity.

He was just so _young_.

There was no sign of Orochimaru's curse scar on the boy's neck, no tenseness to his brow as he sat before Naruto breathing easily and not avoiding his glaze when they clashed. Ther was only that familiar stifling tension that hung about Sasuke as he carried all of the memories and convictions of his painful past on his shoulders.

"Don't worry." A palm stroked his head and he blinked up at the serious black irises that caught his sad blue ones. "You'll be home soon once you're all fixed up." Sasuke soothed the rolls of distress from his back, and sat back on the floor as he started to wrap up the scratch marks and bites Naruto had left on his arms and hands. He bit back the sudden twinges of guilt as they scoured his dry throat.

Home.

The younger boy continued his ministrations on his fury body as he cut the bandage tape from his hand with his teeth. Naruto didn't have the energy to give a yip of protest, his eyes drooping closed without his will under the knuckles that rubbed beautifully at the knots that tangled behind his sensitive ears.

But was already there… wasn't he?

— — —

a/n: end of the official chapter one. thanks for the views and reviews~ ^_^ hope you enjoyed!


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